- American Airlines to resume US flights to Venezuela for first time since 2019 after Trump announces airspace reopening
Source: mint [India]
“American Airlines announced on Thursday that it intends to restart daily flights to Venezuela for the first time since 2019, pending government approval and subject to security review. This comes weeks after US forces [abducted] former president Nicolas Maduro during Operation Absolute Resolve. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump directed the Transportation Department to lift the current limitations that bar US flights following a conversation with Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez, according to Reuters.” (01/29/26)
- Judge rejects Brad Raffensperger’s bid to loosen spending limits in Georgia governor’s race
Source: WRAL News
“A federal judge has rejected for now Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger ‘s bid to gain more spending power in the state’s race for governor, upholding campaign finance rules that some Republicans argue give certain candidates an unfair advantage. Raffensperger’s independent political action committee, Safe Affordable Georgia, filed a federal lawsuit in December asking permission to raise unlimited funds for his campaign. One of his opponents in the GOP primary, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, has been able to do that under a 2021 state law that created leadership committees like the one he chairs, which can raise unlimited funds for candidates. Attorneys for Safe Affordable Georgia argued current law violates Raffensperger’s First Amendment rights by subjecting him to different rules than his opponent and requested that the limits for his committee be waived during the ongoing campaign.” (01/29/26)
- CDC: Average US life expectancy hit record high in 2024
Source: United Press International
“The average life expectancy in the United States hit a record high of 79 in 2024, a report from the Centers for Disease Control said Thursday. The average 79-year mark is an increase of more than a half year over 2023. The National Center for Health Statistics ‘Mortality in the United States, 2024’ report found that the age-adjusted death rate decreased by about 3.8%. … The increase in life expectancy was greater for males than for females, up 0.2 compared to 0.1. The average life expectancy for a female born in 2024 is 81.4 and for a male it is 76.5. Average life expectancies also increased for every race and ethnicity recorded.” (01/29/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/01/29/cdc-average-life-expectancy-record/3321769703311/
- IL: Teen arrested on charges of impersonating an ICE gang member
Source: New York Post
“A raging Illinois teen has been accused of stabbing a pregnant mother to death and knifing her pet dog during a Facebook Marketplace meetup — then setting her home ablaze, according to authorities and reports. Nedas Revuckas, 19, has been hit with a slew of charges for allegedly murdering 30-year-old Eliza Morales in her suburban Downers Grove apartment unit on Monday evening, according to police. … Revuckas faces first-degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child, armed robbery, aggravated arson, and animal cruelty charges in connection with the tragic killing, according to court records.” (01/29/26)
- ME: Pol Announces End to “Large-Scale” ICE Gang Activity After Talks with Shot-Caller “ICE Barbie”
Source: US News & World Report
“U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Thursday that immigration officials have ceased their ‘enhanced operations’ in the state, the site of a [gang activity] surge and more than 100 [abductions] since last week. Collins, a Republican, made the announcement after saying she had several direct communications with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. ‘There are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here,’ Collins said in a statement. ‘I have been urging Secretary Noem and others in the Administration to get ICE to reconsider its approach to immigration enforcement in the state.’ The announcement came after President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second [murder] by federal immigration agents.” (01/29/26)
- Germany: Deutsche Bank offices raided in money laundering probe
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Deutsche Bank’s offices in Frankfurt and Berlin have been raided by officials as part of an inquiry into money laundering. In a statement, the Office of the Federal Prosecutor said it was conducting an investigation, involving the Federal Criminal Police Office, into ‘unknown individuals and employees’ at Germany’s largest bank. It said Deutsche Bank had ‘maintained business relationships in the past with foreign companies’ which were suspected of ‘having been used for money laundering purposes as part of further investigations.’ … German media reported that the case carries possible links to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, a claim his lawyers say is ‘entirely false and inaccurate.'” (01/29/26)
- US appeals court says Noem’s decision to end protections for Venezuelans in US was illegal
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“A federal appeals court ruled late Wednesday that the Trump administration acted illegally when it ended legal protections that gave hundreds of thousands of people from Venezuela permission to live and work in the United States. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that found Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority when she ended temporary protected status for Venezuelans. The decision, however, will not have any immediate practical effect after the U.S. Supreme Court in October allowed Noem’s decision to take effect pending a final decision by the justices.” (01/29/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/29/noem-decision-venezuelans-appeals-court/
- Saudi and Israeli officials visit DC to discuss possible US strikes on Iran
Source: Axios
“The Trump administration is hosting senior defense and intelligence officials from Israel and Saudi Arabia for talks on Iran this week as President Trump considers military strikes, two U.S. officials and two other sources with knowledge told Axios. Trump has ordered a U.S. military buildup in the Gulf to prepare for potential military action. Israel, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region have been on high alert for days in anticipation of a U.S. strike. The Israelis came to D.C. to share intelligence on possible targets inside Iran. The Saudis, meanwhile, are highly concerned about a potential regional war and are trying to help broker a diplomatic solution.” (01/29/26)
- Italy: Ex-general gears up to launch new far-right party
Source: Politico
“Roberto Vannacci, an MEP and former general, is preparing to launch his own political party, which would formalize a break with Matteo Salvini’s League and potentially reshape the Italian far right. He announced the launch of the new party on Instagram on Wednesday. Vannacci had already registered the name and logo of the movement, Futuro Nazionale (National Future), on Jan. 24, according to trademark filings. His new project is being described by Italian media as an attempt to build an Italian version of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and create a new force that would sit to the right of Salvini.” (01/29/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-roberto-vannacci-launch-new-far-right-party
- American Gestapo/American Psycho
Source: Judging Freedom
by Andrew P Napolitano“Last week, a half-dozen masked and unidentifiable Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents killed a 37-year-old federal employee, a nurse, by spraying pepper spray into his eyes, pushing him to the ground, stealing his lawfully owned and carried handgun, and then shooting him nine times in the back. … Under the Constitution, immigration — who can legally come to and remain in the United States — was left to the states to regulate; and naturalization — who can become an American citizen — was left to the feds.” (01/29/26)
- From Georgia’s Film Subsidies to Intel’s Collapse, Industrial Policy Keeps Failing
Source: Reason
by Veronique de Rugy“Industrial policy is failing, and not just in Washington. Across America, officials promise to engineer the right economic outcomes by intervening in the market in just the right ways. Most people know that under Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the idea has exploded. Less appreciated is how enthusiastically governors and state legislators are embracing their own versions. They repeat the same claims: With the right mix of subsidies, protection, and political direction, one government or another can revive strategic industries and deliver durable economic strength. The results tell a different story. Wherever it’s found, industrial policy is producing wasted resources, distorted incentives, and fragile outcomes that collapse the moment political support shifts or market realities intrude.” (01/29/26)
- Networks Versus Hierarchies in Minneapolis’s Struggle Against ICE
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by Frank Miroslav“For some time, I was thinking about writing a review of Kevin Carson’s book The Desktop Regulatory State, which helped inspire me to become an anarchist back in 2016, to see how it aged in the decade since it was published. But then ICE invaded the city of Minneapolis. And then the citizens fought back in a way that is seemingly a textbook application of what Carson wrote about in that book, to the point that if a second edition is ever published, I would not at all be surprised if it had an entire subsection in the appendix of the book, Case Study in Networked Resistance.” (01/28/26)
- The Incredibility of Credibility
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“When they hear about awesome yet unlikely policy reforms, one of economists’ favorite reactions is to shrug and sigh, ‘But there’s a huge credibility problem.’ Why not promise foreign investors that they’ll never be expropriated? ‘Credibility. Investors know that after they invest, you’ll reverse the policy.’ Why not deny immigrants welfare benefits for life? ‘Credibility. Natives know that once the immigrants are here, they’ll soon pressure us for equal treatment.’ Why not allow people to give up Social Security benefits in exchange for lower taxes? ‘Credibility. Americans won’t tolerate senior citizens living on the streets.’ Citing ‘credibility’ makes economists sound wise, and laymen sound like wise economists. Yet on reflection, most credibility arguments are foolishly obtuse.” (01/29/26)
- Kennedy Center: Don’t Mend It, End It
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“After only two weeks on the job, The Hill reports, Kevin Couch resigned in late January as head of artistic programming at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Couch’s brief tenure might seem surprising, but a better question is why Couch sought or accepted the position in the first place. With a reasonably impressive record dating back 30 years as a drummer, manager, and midwest talent booker, why swim toward a sinking ship? And a better question yet is: Why bother to keep that ship afloat at all?” (01/29/26)
- Forget About Online Groypers. Instagram Influencers Will Be The Real Death Of America
Source: The Federalist
by Kylee Griswold“emember just three months ago, when conservatives self-immolated over a smarmy little twerp named Nick Fuentes, who was supposedly going to be the downfall of the conservative movement because he was being platformed? … The Fuentes hysteria looks especially stupid now — first because of a new report from Eric Kaufman at the University of Buckingham Center for Heterodox Social Science showing just how weak Fuentes’[s] influence really is …. nd second, because we’re once again experiencing a flare-up of a phenomenon with way more power than Nick Fuentes and frog memes have ever had: low-information Instagram performance posting.” (01/29/26)
- The American people fact-checked their government
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Jacob Mchangama“On Oct. 17, 1961, tens of thousands of Algerians marched through the streets of Paris in peaceful defiance of a discriminatory curfew imposed by the French state. Police opened fire, beat protesters, arrested them en masse — and, in some cases, threw people into the Seine, where they drowned. Historians later called it ‘the bloodiest act of state repression of street protest in Western Europe in modern history.’ At least 48 — but possibly hundreds — were killed. Yet for decades, the official story minimized the violence. The death toll, it was claimed, was three. Police had acted to defend themselves. The protesters were terrorists. The French state actively buried the truth. Records were falsified. Evidence suppressed. Investigations blocked. Publications seized. The paper trail was shaped to match the story. … Paris 1961 is a historical warning. Minneapolis 2026 is its modern counterpoint.” (01/29/26)
https://www.thefire.org/news/american-people-fact-checked-their-government
- ICE’s Theater of War
Source: Mother Jones
by Inae Oh“The Trump administration may be starting to show small signs of regret after its lies about Alex Pretti’s killing proved too much for Americans. But make no mistake: The wind-down is about quelling a PR crisis amid tanking poll numbers — not regret for their terrorist-like behavior. President Trump and his inner circle still insist that rounding people up and crushing dissidents brings peace to American cities besieged by the assault of having an immigrant community. In fact, some, like Steve Bannon, are calling for further escalation.” (01/29/26)
- Raiders of the Lost Cause
Source: The Bulwark
by Andrew Egger“Although it feels insane to have to write this in 2026, I guess I probably should: All Trump’s claims about the supposed mendacity of the 2020 election have been endlessly litigated and relitigated. The votes have been counted, recounted, investigated, and audited. Every investigation into the matter has confirmed the same thing: Trump’s claims were preposterous lies in 2020, and they remain just as preposterously untrue six years on. There’s one thing that’s new, though. It’s possible that now, unlike in 2020, we no longer live in a world where the actual truth or falsehood of such claims actually matters.” (01/29/26)
- Reading Obituaries
Source: TomDispatch
by Tom Engelhardt“Having reached a certain age and long been fascinated by obituaries, I sometimes think about both Donald Trump’s and my own. At 79, he’s just slightly less than two years younger than me, though of course I wasn’t the 45th president of the United States or the 47th one either. And eight chaotic years (or more?) as president (assuming he makes it that far) guarantee him a monster (and I do indeed use that word advisedly) set of obituaries when he dies, whereas almost a quarter-century at TomDispatch guarantees me nothing at all.” (01/29/26)
- Is the US Dollar Dominant or Doomed? Analysts Read the Same Data — Very Differently
Source: Bitcoin.com
by Jamie Redman“As gold and silver reach historic price levels in early 2026, two specific analyses offer sharply different interpretations of what the U.S. dollar’s recent movement signals about U.S. policy, capital flows, and global markets.” (01/29/26)
- The Unraveling Right
Source: Washington Monthly
by David Austin Walsh“The MAGA movement is fracturing between donors, intellectuals, influencers, and an increasingly radical base.” (01/29/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/01/29/the-unraveling-right/
- Washington’s Misplaced Shipbuilding Obsession
Source: Cato Institute
by Colin Grabow“In a year dominated by sharp partisanship, numerous lawmakers improbably united around the revival of America’s commercial shipbuilding industry. Congressional legislation that would channel billions into shipyard subsidies and new trade restrictions attracted scores of cosponsors. The White House issued an executive order aimed at maritime revitalization, and a trade pact with South Korea includes a pledge to invest $150 billion in U.S. shipyards. But expectations of a genuine American shipbuilding renaissance should be kept in check. The United States is ill-suited to quickly transform from a virtual non-participant in commercial shipbuilding to a competitive producer of large cargo vessels. More likely is another round of costly subsidies, continued shipbuilding dysfunction, and little progress toward addressing the country’s key maritime challenges.” (01/29/26)
https://www.cato.org/commentary/washingtons-misplaced-shipbuilding-obsession
- Trump successfully turns off crazy Biden era regulations on your home appliances
Source: Fox News
by Ben Lieberman“President Donald Trump has sharply diverged from his predecessor on nearly every issue, perhaps most of all concerning federal home appliance regulations. The Biden administration loved regulating appliances, imposing new requirements for stoves, dishwashers, furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, light bulbs, refrigerators, washing machines and more. Trump wasted no time targeting such meddling with an Inauguration Day executive order reconsidering these regulations, and his administration is making progress on this priority. Here is an overview of what the administration achieved in year one on home appliance regulations — and what remains undone.” (01/29/26)
- The Invisible Hand at Sea
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes“The archipelago of the Azores, a Portuguese territory located in the North Atlantic between Europe and North America, is frequently celebrated for its natural beauty, volcanic landscapes, and the idyllic image of dairy cows dominating the green islands. This tourist imagery, however, hides a historically difficult economic reality. The geographic location of the Azores, marked by insularity, market isolation, and natural limitations on agricultural production, has imposed deep economic costs.” (01/29/26)
- Cathy reads books: Enlightenment 2.0 review
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz“I’m a bit of a freak for human irrationality. My first love was politics. My profession is marketing. I’ve read more Behavioral Econ than a normal person. So a book whose thesis is ‘humans are bad at reasoning and that’s why politics sucks and is so tribal, irrational, and populist’ was obviously going to appeal to me. Enter Enlightenment 2.0, by Joseph Heath.” (01/29/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/cathy-reads-books-enlightenment-20
- Taming Big Tech
Source: hypertext
by David Dagan“AI’s embodiment in grimly purpose-built data centers is drawing grassroots opposition from across the political spectrum. Deeper fears of AI doom are generating proposals for more serious regulation of the technology. The EU has already acted. And the ever-growing anxiety over the cultural acid leaking through our phones is leading many schools and parents to clamp down. Will we get a political movement that is equal to the challenge this time?” (01/29/26)
- The Justifications For War With Iran Keep Changing
Source: Caitlin Johnstone
by Caitlin Johnstone“First it’s nukes, then it’s conventional missiles, then it’s protesters, and now it’s back to nukes again. Kinda seems like war with Iran is itself the objective, and they’re just making up excuses to get there. As the US moves war machinery to the middle east and holds multi-day war games throughout the region, President Trump and his handlers have been posting threats to the Iranian government on social media warning them to ‘make a deal’ on nuclear weapons.” (01/29/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/01/29/the-justifications-for-war-with-iran-keep-changing/
- Higher Education May Be Beyond Saving, Unless …
Source: Independent Institute
by Richard K Vedder“I’ve spent more than two-thirds of a century (since 1958) at American universities. Never in all those years has their earned and deserved reputation as the best in the world suffered bigger threats than today. U.S. colleges and universities not only have behaved abysmally, but they’re now paying a high price for showing contempt for the prevailing values of the public that sustains them. … Can and will universities be saved, overcoming this crisis? Not without some serious behavioral modification.” (01/29/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/01/29/higher-education-may-be-beyond-saving-unless/
- We Can’t Repeat It Enough: Privatize the Roads
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Patrick Carroll“The libertarian position on driver’s licenses, on drunk driving, on human-driven cars, on speed limits, and every other road rule is the same as it has always been: privatize the roads and let private road owners make their own rules. If one is asked ‘What shall the government do if privatization is off the table,’ the answer is ‘Libertarian principle does not mandate a particular second-best solution, only that the right thing to do is complete privatization.’ If road privatization is thought to be undesirable for whatever reason, then that is understandable — but then the person with this position is simply not a libertarian on this question.” (01/29/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/we-cant-repeat-it-enough-privatize-the-roads
- The Murderers Among Us
Source: CounterPunch
by Eve Ottenberg“Since Donald Trump took office in 2025, ICE has murdered at least 34 people in the U.S. It has deported 623,900 people. Those are not negligible numbers. They are the beginning – mark that, the beginning – of the ethnic cleansing of America. They are the first shot across the bow of any contraption or conglomeration that might oppose shipping nonwhites out of country. There are 68 million Hispanics in the U.S., and it’s safe to say that Scharfuhrer Stephen Miller wants to deport them all. Will Trump’s henchmen limit their ambitions to Hispanics? I doubt it.” (01/29/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/01/29/the-murderers-among-us/
- Conservative “Judicial Activists” vs. ICE
Source: Reason
by Damon Root“Why a conservative judge’s ‘patience is at an end’ over Trump’s immigration crackdown.” (01/29/26)
https://reason.com/2026/01/29/conservative-judicial-activists-vs-ice/
- After Alex Pretti’s Murder, it’s Clear That MAGA Media Views White Liberals as Race Traitors
Source: Liberal Currents
by Alan Elrod“MAGA is committed to the belief that the people ICE is pursuing are inherently bad and that therefore opposing ICE is standing with criminals and rapists against the American people.” (01/29/26)
- The Forgotten Casualties in Trump’s Wars
Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow“The world can be an ugly place, and Washington sometimes faces terrible choices. However, the U.S. president possesses neither the moral nor legal authority to wander the globe randomly imposing his will and killing anyone in the way. Someone claiming to be a peacemaker should stop irresponsibly visiting death and destruction upon other people. Even in Venezuela.” (01/29/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-forgotten-casualties-in-trumps-wars/
- Scholarship tax credits can help more Kentucky students succeed
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Gary W Houchens“Different families have different educational needs. Scholarship tax credits can help many struggling Kentucky students succeed. While the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act created the opportunity for these scholarships, each state must opt into the program each year. House Bill 88 could begin Kentucky’s process for adopting a more-robust form of educational freedom for low-to-middle income families. Here are some upsides for families of a scholarship tax credit program that Kentucky lawmakers might adopt this year.” (01/29/26)
- The Fifth Column, 542
Source: The Fifth Column
“Enthusiastic Armadas, Armenian Bakeries, Ye’s Apology Ad.” (01/29/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/enthusiastic-armadas-armenian-bakeries
- Freed Up, 01/29/26
Source: Reason
“Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss the latest videos of Alex Pretti, their own Reason origin stories, and how Joe Biden broke everything.” (01/29/26)
- Underthrow Podcast, 01/29/26
Source: Underthrow
“Storytelling Beyond Politics w/ Erin O’connor.” (01/29/26)
- The Daily, 01/29/26
Source: New York Times
“Social Media on Trial.” (01/29/26)
- Chasing Liberty, 01/29/26
Source: Chasing Liberty
“Daryl Davis Has the Solution for Healing America’s Divisions.” (01/29/26)
https://www.libertychasers.com/p/daryl-davis-has-the-solution-for
- Political Theater, 01/29/26
Source: Roll Call
“Forecast shows chance of snow, shutdown.” (01/29/26)
https://chrt.fm/track/D3F8DG/traffic.megaphone.fm/FISCAL2476770220.mp3
- Rising, 01/29/26
Source: The Hill
“Insane! CNN pundit still denies Charlie Kirk was killed by left-winger: Robby Soave.” (01/29/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/5710945-rising-january-29-2026/
- Radio Atlantic, 01/29/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Tim Walz on the ‘all-out attack on all of state government.'” (01/29/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/01/tim-walz-minnesota-immigration/685803/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 01/29/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Trump Makes Iran An Offer It Cannot Accept.” (01/29/26)
- Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 01/29/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“A Marine’s Perspective on the Alex Pretti Killing and Trump 2.0 w/ James R. Webb.” (01/29/26)
- The Bulwark Podcast, 01/29/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Ta-Nehisi Coates: This Is Armed Identity Politics.” (01/29/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 01/29/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Erupts at GOPers over Kristi Noem as Her Support Suddenly Slips.” (01/29/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/205843/trump-erupts-gopers-kristi-noem-support-suddenly-slips
- Cato Daily Podcast, 01/29/26
Source: Cato Institute
‘Why Propping Up Maduro’s Allies Won’t Save Venezuela.” (01/29/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/why-propping-maduros-allies-wont-save-venezuela